Enough Is Enough, We Must Leave: Exploring Residence Refugees in South Africa

Author Information

Lawrence Vorvornator, University of Zululand, South Africa
Joyce Mdiniso, University of Zululand, South Africa

Abstract

The study explores South Africa’s (SA), residence refugees protests in UNHCR office, with demands to be resettled in another country. The study is relevant because of nationwide debate; since others consider refugees as ‘ungrateful’, and others think it is their right to demand rights as enshrined in SA’s constitution. Grounded in Critical Refugees Studies, the study adopts a literature review, otherwise known as a ‘meta-study’, to explore refugees desire to leave SA. The study’s findings reveal that through hospitality and ‘Ubuntu’ (I am because you are), SA becomes sub-regional powerhouse for peace and security after apartheid’s demise; rescued refugees from other countries. Later, SA changed her migration politics from cooperation (asylum procedures), to coercion; which leads to xenophobic threats, afro-phobic (fear of Africans), harrasment, and short-term permits renewal. SA’s humanitarianism approach considers refugees as needy and defenseless; takes away their human rights and replaces it with charity. Enough of migration coercion, refugees protested for their resettlement in another country. We argue that refugees’ livability (quality of life), made them to protest for their resettlement to another country because they think they are worse-off in SA.
Overall, the study establishes that humanitarianism, which consider refugees as losers, and SA as givers; regard refugees as ‘less-persons’, hence their protests. We recommend refugees’ conducive environment to negotiate between abject compassion and administrative logic versus being less-human. Administrative processes should be improved to process refugees’ document. Mass education about refugees need to ‘switch’ from humanitarian ideology to human rights everyone deserves irrespective of status.